“Happy birthday. Put your clothes on. Come downstairs. We are going for a ride… But, first, we need to talk.”

Dad was always full of surprises and short sentences.What could be waiting for me?

“Here. Sit down. Shut up and listen.”,

he said as he pointed to a chair in the kitchen.

With 2 hands he yanked out another chair that was hiding under the white porcelain covered steel table. Dad slammed that chair with a thud directly in front of me. We were eye to eye. About 18 inches of air separated us.

I could smell his coffee breath.

He paused.

“I bought an old car for you… to use. We’ll go see it in a few minutes,”

said my Dad with no smile on his face. He scowled and stared at me.

“I’m not playing around here. Driving is serious business. Understand?”

“Yes,” I said.

My brain was thrilled but no smile on my Dad’s face told me that now was not a time for smiling.

He took a cigarette out of an open pack that he kept in his shirt pocket. He lit the cigarette and spoke with it dangling from his lips.

“This is how the deal will work. First off—I own the car. I am letting you use the car. You don’t own the car.

About John Trybulec

John Trybulec was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1956.

John's parents, and the nuns at Saints Peter and Paul grade school, noticed that he loved to express himself and nurtured this creativity. He graduated from Eastern Michigan University. His professional background includes network television production, management of a major market radio station, and many styles of writing. John is married, lives in Florida and ownsTryad L.L.C - an ad agency that services North America.

For fun he surf casts, welds art that nobody wants, lifts weights and goofs around with his old muscle car.